S. 5486: To amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act to exclude from eligibility each sub-Saharan African country that does not effectively enforce its environmental laws and fulfill its international environmental obligations.

This bill would change the rules for a U.S. trade program called the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives certain sub-Saharan African countries easier access to the U.S. market.

What would change

• It would add a new requirement for AGOA eligibility: a country must effectively enforce its environmental laws, regulations, and other measures.
• It would also have to fulfill its international environmental obligations, including obligations related to public health.

Practical effect

Under this bill, sub-Saharan African countries that do not meet these environmental standards could be excluded from AGOA benefits. That could affect their ability to export goods to the United States under preferential trade terms.

Other technical change

The bill also makes a related wording update in another trade law so that the relevant requirements are judged based on the rules in effect when the President makes the designation, rather than on the rules in effect on the date the law was enacted.

Relevant Companies

None found